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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27762292">A Knight's Errand</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marshmallows/pseuds/Cherish'>Cherish (Marshmallows)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Granblue Fantasy (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Baking, Christmas, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 22:09:15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,609</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27762292</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marshmallows/pseuds/Cherish</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Lancelot tries to bake a cake for Vane (emphasis on <i>tries</i>).</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Lancelot/Vane</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>GBF Secret Santa 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Knight's Errand</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>For the <a href="https://twitter.com/GBFSS2020">GBF Secret Santa 2020</a>!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The plan was simple: bake Vane a cake. </p>
<p>The execution was something else entirely.</p>
<p>Hands weighed down with bags of ingredients, Lancelot stopped in his tracks to stare at a display cake. It sat tantalising behind the window: mounted with strawberries, inlaid with swirls of cream, all topped with a miniature Santa as round as King Carl himself. He almost couldn’t envision sticking a knife into the cream and carving out this winter wonderland. The miniature Santa would have nothing left to rule over, no cream, no kingdom. For a moment, he considered a reality where he could produce such a cake, and be able to see the pride and joy in Vane’s face when he could finally give back after all those years he had fed him.</p>
<p>Without another thought, Lancelot advanced into the bakery, as far as it took for the announcing chime of the door bell to break him out of his trance.</p>
<p>“No,” Lancelot whispered to himself, his grip tightening on the bags, “That’s already admitting defeat.”</p>
<p>Regardless, it was hard not to notice the Captain of the Order of the White Dragons stood still in the middle of the aisle, staring menacingly at a cake as if it threatened to shatter his hopes and dreams. Under the pretence of gathering intelligence for Vane’s future baking endeavours, Lancelot eventually backed out of the bakery with his arms full of samples and a page of hastily scribbled baking tips.  </p>
<p>After a deep breath and a nod to himself back out in the frost bitten streets of Feendrache, Lancelot smiled with a goal now envisioned in mind. Nothing else would stop him any longer, not even as the knights stared at their Captain as he marched through the castle with an intense determination burning behind his eyes and a stray chocolate sprinkle at the corner of his lips. Upon reaching the doors to the kitchen, Lancelot spun round on his heel and cleared his throat.</p>
<p>“From the moment I step into this kitchen,” Lancelot said, his voice booming down the corridors to the knights on guard, “I request I do not be disturbed. Please pass on the message – but not a word to Vice Captain Vane. I will personally summon him when the time is right.”</p>
<p>Of course, when the doors were shut and he was left alone to confront the array of ingredients he had haphazardly swept off the shelves, Lancelot felt his hope draining bit by bit.</p>
<p>He felt embarrassed to say that he had no idea what this selection of ingredients meant. He never knew how many forms in which sugar could exist: confectioner’s sugar, brown sugar, and that was not even the end of it. He simply knew he liked sweets, and there was this complexity that Vane didn’t seem to acknowledge, even though he simply stored all his grandmother’s recipes in his memories.</p>
<p>Donning an apron, Lancelot took in a deep breath and rolled up his sleeves. It didn’t take him long to realise that constantly having to tuck his hair behind his ear as he squinted at a piece of paper and moved frantically between unpacking different ingredients meant that he would soon adorn his raven hair with streaks of white flour. In fact, the paper with his notes would soon join him in the mess, ink smudges and flour dusted fingerprints after being manhandled in his rush to read.</p>
<p>Lancelot only realised the time when the kitchen became bathed in an orange glow, and he peered out the window for his first reprieve, lost in the amber of the setting sun. After going through a batch of mismatched cakes, Lancelot sunk to his knees on the floor. One was a flat mess after he was too curious and had to open the oven, another didn’t need the extra sugar he thought it needed, and for many more, he simply did not know what had happened to cause such failures. He only knew he had to stop himself when he realised what he was saying to his swords.</p>
<p>“Knife work is impossible with my unskilled hands,” Lancelot muttered, before unsheathing his twin blades, “Forgive me, Altachiara. You’re my only hope.”</p>
<p>Alas, it was too late. He had attempted a technique that he and Vane had once performed together, using his twin blades to make an icy strawberry sauce. However, without Vane’s guidance, the cake, alongside several other nearby utensils, was now simply a block of ice.</p>
<p>It had to be at that moment that the kitchen doors creaked open and a number of footsteps pattered in. </p>
<p>“Captain Lancelot!”</p>
<p>Lancelot stood upright, eyes wide as he pushed aside several unfortunate accidents that did not deserve to be called cakes, “What are you all doing here? I thought I…”</p>
<p>“We heard a lot of noise,” Tornelio mumbled, “so we got worried…”</p>
<p>“But as loud as Vice Captain Vane is…” Cruz added slowly.</p>
<p>“He’s usually just singing,” Mordred said, with a quirk of his brow and a hand on his hip, “and we heard a lot of crashing which even he wouldn’t cause.”</p>
<p>“We didn’t think it’d be you in here though…” Arthur said, innocent eyes peering into his guilt racked soul. </p>
<p>Lancelot was left unable to form a plea to these detectives catching him red handed, turning from face to face until he managed to splutter, “Please leave me be!” he cried, ushering them out, “And not a word to Vane! Please!”</p>
<p>Despite his one request, he was not at all surprised when he soon heard the doors bursting open and Vane’s ensuing voice crashing in.</p>
<p>“Lan-chan!”</p>
<p>Lancelot didn’t have to turn around. Instead, he felt his body sink, his head dropping onto his arms on the table, resigned to his fate.</p>
<p>“Vane…” Lancelot moaned, muffled, “Why are you here?”</p>
<p>“Oh, uh,” Vane said, entirely unconvincingly casual, “Don’t I always use the kitchen?”</p>
<p>Lancelot shot up to confront him, acutely aware of the roaring blush on his cheeks, “I specifically ordered no one to come in whilst I was in here!”</p>
<p>“Oh!” Vane said, a smile emerging upon his face, “So that’s why Arthur said I was the only one who could help!”</p>
<p>“Am I really so obvious?” Lancelot sighed, his biggest weakness exposed by a team of teenagers.</p>
<p>“Lan-chan, you’re planning somethin’ special, aren’t ya?” Vane said, coming forward to wipe off a smudge of flour from Lancelot’s cheek, “Have you been here all day? Why are your swords here?”</p>
<p>“That’s…” Lancelot mumbled, his gaze drifting elsewhere, “classified…”</p>
<p>“Hmm…” Vane hummed, peering into his face so closely that he had nowhere to hide; but in avoiding his gaze, Lancelot was ashamed he left himself wide open, allowing Vane to capture him into his arms, lifting him off his feet.</p>
<p>“Vane!” Lancelot spluttered, “Stop it!”</p>
<p>“C’mon, Lan-chan…” Vane said, squishing his cheek onto his, “When you get all pouty like this, it makes it more obvious, y’know?”</p>
<p>Lancelot didn’t answer, cheeks burning under the warmth of Vane’s skin. He knew he was dishevelled even without a mirror, the state of the kitchen reflected back onto him. All it took was one look down to make him aware that he was covered from head to toe in various cake ingredients.</p>
<p>“What’s troublin’ ya?” Vane said, depositing Lancelot back onto the ground.</p>
<p>After a moment of staring at the floor, Lancelot took in a deep breath, “I was…” he muttered, “trying to make something…”</p>
<p>“Well, why didn’t you say so earlier?” Vane said, grinning from ear to ear, “Two heads are better than one, especially with us two.”</p>
<p>“That is usually the case, yes…” Lancelot said, his voice trailing off as he watched Vane inspect the spoiled fruits of his labour.</p>
<p>“This one oughta work,” Vane said, selecting the cake tin that looked the least sad, “Can’t let all your hard work go to waste!”</p>
<p>Without hearing any of Lancelot’s feeble protests, Vane then tipped out the tin onto an appropriate plate, and to his surprise, the contents didn’t sink or crumble apart. It was an actual cake that held its shape for more than a few seconds, and for a moment, Lancelot wondered if he had actually improved over the course of the day.</p>
<p>“While it cools, let’s get all the decorations ready!” Vane said, and his smile made him feel like everything would soon be alright.</p>
<p>It was always Vane who created something sensible out of Lancelot’s chaos. Dirty dishes were washed in a flash, surfaces cleaned until they were sparkling, leftovers were set aside for possible resurrection. It was now clear that Vane was here to claim mastery of the kitchen.</p>
<p>“Your hands aren’t steady,” Vane laughed, looking over from his side of the table, where he had clearly been more productive, “Your shoulders are all tense.”</p>
<p>All of a sudden, Lancelot was self conscious of his own body, inspecting his every breath and every movement, when Vane cupped his hand over his.</p>
<p>“You gotta relax, Lan-chan…” Vane said, “Even if you make a mistake, I’ll be here to help you.”</p>
<p>When Vane finished off his sentence with a great big smile, Lancelot could only mirror his expression, “I know,” he said, “Thank you, Vane.”</p>
<p>Vane didn’t leave it at that. Following the line of his arm, Lancelot felt his hands slide past his waist, as he came closer to hug him from behind. </p>
<p>“Use my extra pair of hands!” Vane said, waving them to and fro on the table top.</p>
<p>Lancelot was thankful he couldn’t see how red his face was, “Sure…”</p>
<p>It was certainly awkward to work, stuck together like this. No matter what was in his hands, all he was conscious of was the warmth of Vane’s skin, the smell of sunshine and fresh linen that seemed to cling to him, how Vane’s wide frame was pressed against his back. He wasn’t pinned to the table – if he let his thoughts run too far astray – but he was definitely not concentrating as Vane took his hands into his to help him shape marzipan.</p>
<p>“What do you wanna make with this?” Vane said, the rumble of his voice close to his ear.</p>
<p>Lancelot didn’t answer immediately. He was too busy staring at how Vane’s hands eclipsed his, the feel of calloused palms usually under the protection of heavy gauntlets, that carried the weight of a hefty halberd; and yet he had fingers so delicate, he could still create shapes out of sugar and almonds. He had to yelp when he suddenly felt a pinch on his cheek.</p>
<p>“Focus.”</p>
<p>Lancelot immediately said, “King Carl.”</p>
<p>“Huh?”</p>
<p>“Dressed like Santa,” Lancelot continued, “And all the knights. You and me, Team Chickadee…”</p>
<p>“Gotta stop you there, Lan-chan…” Vane said, “That’s gonna be a busy cake.”</p>
<p>“Oh…” Lancelot said, with all the energy of a deflated balloon.</p>
<p>“I know you wanna pull out all the stops for this, Lan-chan,” Vane said, “But there’s so many knights, and only so much cake!”</p>
<p>“I…” Lancelot let out a breath, “want this to be the best cake I can possibly make.”</p>
<p>“Woah,” Vane said, “Whoever this is for is gonna be real lucky. I gotta give it my all too!”</p>
<p>Lancelot smiled as he turned back to their joined hands, and before long, they had created miniature versions of themselves, dressed up like Santa just like back in their childhood. Neither of them had ruined outfits, not with Vane’s help this time around. It was a little more difficult to cover the cake in cream whilst they were stacked together, so after some quick parting words, they separated back to their sides of the table. Vane did all the decorating however, Lancelot watching him in awe as he transformed his work into a masterpiece, a winter wonderland composed of piped cream and sliced strawberries.</p>
<p>“Here it is!” Vane said, “Got some room to write something in chocolate, what do you wanna do, Lan-chan?”</p>
<p>“‘Thank you for everything’,” Lancelot said without hesitation.</p>
<p>“Okay…” Vane said, taking a smaller piping bag of chocolate to write large letters in a number of strokes, “What name should I put on?”</p>
<p>“If you teach me now,” Lancelot said, “I can add it later.”</p>
<p>“Oh, but I can help you now,” Vane said.</p>
<p>Lancelot chewed his lip, but it was only after another prompt of his nickname that he let out a long sigh.</p>
<p>“Alright,” Vane said, finally passing him the tiny piping bag, “You’ve never done this before, right? Test out on this piece of baking paper first…”</p>
<p>Immediately, a glob of chocolate spurted out with a squeeze of his fingers. Lancelot stared at how much he had wasted in a single touch, when he felt Vane clap his hand against his back.</p>
<p>“Don’t worry about it!” Vane said, “Let’s try again…”</p>
<p>Again and again, Lancelot tried, but there was only so much chocolate in such a small bag and Lancelot had used it all up on ridiculous splodges before he could even form a letter.</p>
<p>“It’s hopeless, Vane…” </p>
<p>“Lemme try…” Vane said, already with another bag of melted chocolate without Lancelot having realised, “What was the name you wanted?”</p>
<p>“It’s…” Lancelot mumbled, “It’s… It’s for ‘Vane’.”</p>
<p>“Wait,” Vane said, stopping after already writing the ‘V’ of his own name, “Seriously?!”</p>
<p>“I had wanted to make it entirely myself! I had wanted to surprise you!” Lancelot cried, gesturing at the discarded remnants of his doing, “Unfortunately, these were the results!”</p>
<p>“Lan-chan…” Vane mumbled, voice breaking. </p>
<p>He knew this would be the result. He had wanted to see his pride and joy, but instead Vane’s face had crumpled, his shoulders were shaking, and he collapsed onto Lancelot with a loud wail.</p>
<p>“You’re crying because they’re atrocious,” Lancelot said.</p>
<p>“No…” Vane said, before fully shaking his head and holding him tight, “No! Lan-chan! That’s not what I care about. As long as it’s from you, I’m fine with anything…”</p>
<p>“That’s not the point,” Lancelot said, his hands wrapping round his back, “You deserve only the best, Vane.”</p>
<p>“But you tried your best, right?” Vane bawled, “And I know you, Lan-chan! Your best only keeps getting better!”</p>
<p>It took several sobs before Lancelot sighed, “It appears we’re at an impasse.”</p>
<p>“Fancy talk for…?”</p>
<p>“We both won’t budge,” Lancelot said, “Just two stubborn men crying over a cake.”</p>
<p>“Let’s eat it together then,” Vane said, pulling back and smiling through his tears.</p>
<p>Lancelot had to mirror him as he wiped a tear from his cheek, “We did make it together, after all.”</p>
<p>Despite all the mess, despite all the worry, it was certainly different to be able to eat something created from his own clumsy hands. Sat by candlelight as night set upon them, Lancelot had to take a moment to stop eating to watch Vane’s face light up in delight. Even if the cake couldn’t compete with store bought, and even if he couldn’t compare to Vane’s own creations, it was worth several hours of toil to see Vane smile like this.</p>
<p>Grinning to himself, Lancelot picked up the miniature version of Vane, dressed up as Santa, “How should I eat him?” </p>
<p>It was Vane’s turn to blush, fork paused halfway between his lips and the plate, “H-Hey!” he spluttered, “We put them aside for a reason!”</p>
<p>“So, I can eat you later?” Lancelot said, proudly placing the miniature in the centre of his clean plate.</p>
<p>“Lan-chan!” Vane whined, but Lancelot only burst into laughter, his stomach full with cake and cheer.</p>
<p>Lancelot propped up his chin with his hand, allowing him to stare back into his glittering eyes. With a smile as warm as he made him, Lancelot whispered back, “Thank you for everything, Vane.”</p>
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